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The majority of employers with IT professionals on staff plan to hire in the next 60 days, with application development the most commonly cited focus area, according to a survey by Monster. About half said they were confident in their ability to find talent for their IT needs.

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With recruitment, selection and training costs, hiring an employee costs a small business an average of $1,872, a study by job-search website Monster shows. Businesses must take steps to ensure each hire is a good fit, as "the smaller the business, the bigger financial impact losses can make," says Meredith Hanrahan, senior vice president of small-business solutions at Monster.

Social media has become integral to the hiring process, a survey from the Society for Human Resource Management says. Eighty-four percent of HR professionals reported using some form of social media for recruiting, although just 5% of employers say it is their primary source for finding candidates.

Some companies are pulling back on strict educational requirements and recognizing the value of self-taught employees, Brian Kreissl writes. He suggests that employers eliminate degree requirements, test candidates for their technical and professional competencies and have them submit portfolios of work for review.

Ex-CEO Ron Johnson earned a salary 1,795 times that of the average J.C. Penney worker, much more than the average CEO-to-worker pay ratio for the S&P 500, which is 204. With hindsight, Johnson wasn't worth anything like that much, but that likely won't stop Penney paying top dollar for his successor. "Any idea that saves JC Penney ... would actually have a financial impact worth much more than 1,795 average workers' salaries. If only that idea existed," Derek Thompson writes.

Firms may have better luck recruiting talented young workers if they promise to publicize workers' accomplishments on a regular basis, according to a study by professors at the University of North Carolina. The key is to "communicate to potential hires that, look, this is a benefit of working here, in spite of the fact that we might lose you, we want everyone to know how great you are," said Ed Van Wesep, who co-wrote the study.